American Express Global Business Travel has appointed Gerardo Tejado as general manager of American Express Meetings & Events.

In his new role, Tejado will report to Global Business Travel’s executive vice president of global supplier relations, Michael Qualantone, and be based in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Tejado replaces Issa Jouaneh, who after leading the globalisation and expansion of the American Express Meetings & Events business over the last decade, is leaving to pursue other interests.

Qualantone said: “Gerardo brings great experience to his new role, not only on the meetings and events side, but also from a commercial, finance and operations perspective.

“He has been central to the growth of our business in Latin America over the past seven years.”

Tejado will be focused on prioritising a technology-driven transformation of the attendee experience for clients of American Express Meetings & Events.

He said: “American Express Meetings & Events has an amazing team of people that is passionate about delivering the best possible experience for our customers, their event attendees and meeting participants.

“I am a strong believer in collaboration and team effort and look forward to leading and learning from this great group of industry innovators.

Tejado was previously vice president and general manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, where he was responsible for doubling the size of the Global Business Travel footprint in the region and opening the company’s propriety operation in Colombia in 2017.

David Reimer, Global Business Travel senior vice president and general manager for the Americas, will now oversee the Latin America and the Caribbean team and operation.